It's Not About the Mochi
by librastar
Summary: He stared at the open container she was holding out to him. The offer was tempting, but like everything else, it didn't feel right taking something that wasn't his in the first place. Like the mochi, it was clear that he didn't deserve someone like her.


**Disclaimer:** As always, the genius that is the anime and manga world of Naruto is the sole copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. All descriptions, names, places and references are the copyright of the owner, and everything else is simply a figment and work of my imagination.

**Author's Note**: This turned out quite differently to what I had originally envisaged, as I actually toyed with the idea of introducing Itachi somewhere in the middle in my first draft! However, as most of us can attest to, the story usually develops a life of its own once you start writing it and this one was no different. I've tried to attempt a different style of writing, and there are lots of things that are actually meant to be metaphorical and left up to the reader's imagination. Nonetheless, I still hope to get the message across. So without further ado…

**It's Not About the Mochi**

It was one of those perfect mornings where the sun was shining, the birds were chirping outside her window and the sky was a brilliant blue, almost the same shade as Naruto's eyes. It was as if even the weather wanted to apologize for the torrential rain of the past week, coupled with the gloom that had hung over her like a personal storm cloud; keeping her mood permanently black. She had fought with Ino needlessly over who got to eat the last tempura at lunch, eventhough she didn't even like deep-fried carrot, fought with her mum (obviously) about her incessant nagging even though Sakura was now twenty-one years old and no more welcomed her mother's constant grumbling about how being a ninja would put any potential husbands off than when she was ten years old; and had had such a spectacular bust-up with Naruto over something as hopelessly trivial as to where they should have dinner that she had almost reduced him to tears.

He told her (yelled at her actually) that she was turning into an S-class b*tch.

But thankfully, all that was behind her now; it was a perfect morning, the start of a brand new day, brand new week and to top it all off, it was one of those lazy mornings where Sakura could afford to wake up late, stretch a little and turn back onto her side and continue sleeping because she wasn't scheduled for any missions that day.

_Sweet serenity!_

When the village clock struck 10 times, Sakura finally rolled out of bed (slowly of course); yawning a little. She felt pleasantly refreshed, coupled with that lovely feeling when you've had a good night's rest and feel that you can take on anything the world throws at you today…until upon stumbling to the fridge and flinging the door wide open; she stared forlornly at a half-empty milk carton that was obviously near its sell-by-date. She swung the door shut again, feeling deflated.

She'd been so tired after the long trip back from her mission at the Land of Waves that she'd completely forgotten to stock up on supplies for the week. Not to say that Sakura had been neglected very much in the food department- they'd been guarding some rich official who'd employed some of the best cooks in the 5 Shinobi Nations. Even Sakura, never a ramen fan herself had admitted that the ramen they had been served was really out of this world. And the mochi, oh the mochi! The delicious melt in your mouth…

Sakura was suddenly struck with this sudden, crazy urge to cook something. Okay, maybe it wasn't such a crazy urge; after all, she had been taking cooking lessons. A few months ago, Ino had suddenly hit upon the groundbreaking theory that the way to a man's heart (or maybe just Shikamaru's) was through his…you guessed it, stomach. She'd suddenly embarked on this fanatical cookery spree: buying every cookbook she could get her hands on and had enrolled in weekend baking classes. And as if the constant forced trials of "my specialty coconut cake" or "my world-famous pork dumplings" weren't bad enough; Ino had somehow managed to drag Sakura along to the Saturday morning classes, insisting that with her big forehead; possessing "stomach-blowing" culinary skills were the only way left for her to snag a man.

And surprisingly, Sakura found that she enjoyed them. To her, cooking and baking presented some form of relief from the daily hecticness of her ninja life; it was strangely comforting to do something as normal as whipping up a batch of chocolate-chip cookies and shoving them into the oven, then savouring the delicious crunchiness of your very own handiwork. And she didn't make a half-bad green tea pudding either. Or at least that's what Shimakaru had said when Sakura had given him two big ones to share with Choji (on the other hand, he'd commented that Ino's puddings were too "troublesome" to eat, as they possessed the consistency of new cement.)

Sakura went back to the bedroom and dug out last week's recipe: green tea and strawberry mochi. She'd been interrupted halfway through the lesson by a call from Tsunade, but it didn't seem terribly hard and she highly doubted her oven would blow up from attempting the dessert on her own.

The ingredients: Well, the milk in the fridge didn't seem that much past its sell-by-date, there was a large bag of glutinous rice flour in the cupboard and plenty of sugar as well as red and green colouring in the drawer under the sink. Perfect!

One hour later, a wonderful milky smell wafted out of her window as she switched off the oven dial and gingerly removed the hot cake pans from the shelf.

She then left them to cool on the windowsill and hopped off to take a long, relaxing shower.

After the mochi had cooled down, Sakura cut them into little pink and green squares; dusted them with _katakuriko_ (potato starch) and rolled the squares in desiccated coconut. Voila! She popped one into her mouth and savoured the chewy, sticky goodness. Nothing tastes better than something you've whipped up yourself.

She contemplated the pink and green squares for a while. Someone else was a huge fan of mochi as well. Especially homemade ones.

* * *

><p>Naruto Uzumaki whistled a merry tune as he strolled along the main street of Hidden Leaf Village on his way to Ichiraku's for a late brunch. He'd been away on missions so often lately that he didn't remember the last time he'd managed to spare 5 minutes (because that was all he needed) to indulge himself in a steaming hot bowl of his favourite noodles.<p>

Just as he rounded the next apartment block, a delicious smell came wafting tantalizingly close to him. He sniffed eagerly, looking around for the source of the fragrant aroma. It smelt like…something sweet, and sticky…

He craned his neck. The smell seemed to be coming from that direction…

Naruto gulped. It was coming from Sakura's apartment! But Sakura...baking? No way! She couldn't even cook ramen cup noodles without burning herself. He certainly didn't want to spend the rest of this glorious morning puking his guts out from whatever vile concoction she'd cooked up. He stopped for a little while, scratching his thick blond thatch. He was hungry, and it did smell okay, no rather more than okay…

BANG BANG BANG! "Sakura, open up! It's me, Naruto!"

Silence.

BANG BANG BANG. "I know you're in there! And I'm telling you, I'm not going away until you give me some of whatever that's giving out that awesome smell!"

Silence.

BANG BANG BANG. "Aw come on, I promise not to laugh at you! Even if it tastes like one of Jiraiya-sama's toads hah hah ha…!"

The door was suddenly flung wide open. Sakura was standing in the doorway, holding a large container that was filled to the brim with…

"Is that mochi?" he asked incredulously. "You made pink mochi?" The neon pink and green squares seemed poisonously fluorescent against the plain white of the container.

She huffed. "You're not getting any, if that's what you came for."

He snorted. "I wouldn't have, except that I was dying of hunger! Can't have Konoha's best ninja dying of starvation can we? I think I deserve a more honorable death than that!" he boasted.

"I'm afraid my "toads" are too good even for your grand funeral Naruto," she shot back.

His stomach gave an unhappy rumble and he sighed theatrically. There was surely a way to get…

"All right Sakura, I'm sorry...NOW GIVE ME…!" As he lunged forward, she managed to hold it out of his reach.

"Uh-uh, like I said, they're not for you. And by the way, I thought Konoha's _best ninja_ would have had more tricks up his sleeve than to resort to such a genin.. no, _baby-style_ diversion," she smirked.

He grumbled to himself. "I think I know who's going to be taking a trip to the dentist tomorrow for some neon pink tooth stain remover…" He gave the mochi a dark look.

"What was that?" she called cheerfully at his departing back.

Unintelligible muttering followed.

"Here, catch!"

Naruto barely had time to turn around before several pink pieces of mochi came whizzing into his outstretched hands. "All right!" He gave one piece a skeptical look, before popping it into his mouth. After standing still for a full five minutes and satisfied that he was still breathing, thinking and functioning normally; he resumed his journey to Ichiraku's.

She shook her head, smiling faintly. At least now she knew for sure that they were edible.

* * *

><p>Ichiraku's was surprisingly crowded for such an early hour, but Naruto still managed to get a seat at the counter. To his surprise, he glimpsed Sasuke tucking into his own huge bowl in the far right of the room. Sasuke was someway below Naruto on Ichiraku's loyalty points scoreboard (who wasn't?) but it was still pretty unusual to see him anywhere, let alone at Ichiraku's.<p>

Naruto felt a small twinge of guilt that perhaps he hadn't been hanging out with Sasuke as much as he should have, checking up on him and helping him get back to "normal". But wounds take time to heal, and Naruto sometimes asked himself if he was completely ready to start erasing some of Sasuke's crimes from his personal black book, let alone forgive. Although a part of him hated Sasuke for all the destruction and atrocities he'd committed, another part of him yearned for the rivalry (and though he'd hated to admit it) and comradeship that they'd shared in their younger days.

But their relationship remained more complex than that. Naruto had always been jealous of how Sasuke had been born seemingly with the silver spoon of the gods themselves in his mouth; for years he had lived with the ignominy of being labeled the village dunce, while Sasuke, with his near-genius intellect and innate aptitude for everything ninja-related had sailed to the top of the year and into everyone's hearts and bets to be "something big" in the future. For the last decade, he'd had to grit his teeth while the villagers of Konoha practiced some of their best facial expressions on him: suspicious (a majority of them) and pitying (the somewhat kinder minority). Poor little Naruto, outcast and unwanted; doomed never to amount to anything but being a glorified demon in a bottle-holder while Sasuke was touted as being the greatest ninja of his generation, a shoo-in for Hokage 20 years from now.

But he'd proved those nasty critics in the pub wrong hadn't he; who'd ended up saving the village from Pain? And who had actually turned out to be _in cahoots_ with Pain? Hah!

"Naruto-san! What will it be today?" The sound of Ayame's cheery voice broke into his reverie.

"The usual pork ramen, remember to make it extra-large!" The whiskered ninja chuckled to himself, rubbing his stomach in gleeful anticipation. Sometimes he wondered if his ramen addiction was something he had been born with, or whether it had been an Uzumaki trait. Had Minato too, spent many delicious lunchtimes slurping ramen broth, trying to impress Kushina with some witty dialogue over a steaming bowl of noodles? Or maybe it had been his mother who had been guilty of passing her fondness for ramen on to her son.

His gaze wandered to Sasuke again, who from the looks of it was finishing up the last of his noodles. Naruto turned away. After the invasion by Pain, even Naruto had been surprised when Tsunade-shisou had granted Sasuke a pardon, on the condition that he was never to leave Konoha again. Although he had redeemed himself by helping Naruto during that last showdown with Pain, many of the villagers still regarded him with deep distrust and rumours abound whether his aiding Naruto ultimately held some darker ulterior motive. Like Pain was simply a pawn used by Sasuke, who was the true leader of the Akatsuki. Orochimaru had faked his own death under Sasuke and was actually pulling the strings behind all this. Talk of reincarnation jutsus and elaborate _genjutsus_ that could fool entire villages. Things like that.

Frankly speaking, Naruto didn't give a damn. Not anymore, at least. As far as he was concerned, the gossipmongers didn't have a clue what the real Sasuke Uchiha was like.

Yet late at night sometimes, when he found himself tossing and turning on his bed; he asked himself the very same question. After being twisted and manipulated by such evil almost beyond recognition, was the Sasuke he had once known (or thought he had known) still there?

"Ramen's here!"

The most delicious sight in the whole wide world was placed in front of him, tufts of steam spiraling from its piping-hot surface, the wonderful spicy smell wafting tantalizingly towards him. His stomach gave a loud, long-suffering groan.

Just as the blonde was poised to lift a spoonful of soup to his lips, someone thumped against his back. He was jerked forwards, his spoon crashing onto the clean table, spilling soup onto its polished wooden surface.

"Hey! What's the big id…Sasuke?" He suddenly felt nervous. "Hi," he managed to stammer.

The brunette merely gave a disgusted snort. "That was an accident." His tone was curt, impatient. Like he didn't want to waste anymore time on something that was nothing more than a little annoyance. Like Naruto was that little annoyance.

He felt himself swell with indignation. "Aren't you even going to say sorry?"

"Apologizing to you would be a _sorry_ use of the word," he sneered.

Grrrr…He clenched his fists, glaring up at Sasuke's smug, cold face.

"Don't you ever change?" He finally said.

"I don't think I need to. No one cares anymore anyway." A bitter, hollow laugh followed his words.

"I do. Sakura does. Kakashi-sensei does." His tone was pleading, pleading for Sasuke to understand, to come back to the only family he had left in the world, the only people left who still loved him despite everything he had done to hurt them, despite the fact that he had tried to kill each and everyone of them.

"It's too late for that. And I don't need your pity anyway- you're all pathetic." He spat.

Naruto grabbed his sleeve; but Sasuke quickly yanked it out of his grip. A horrible ripping sounded.

Sasuke glared, stony-faced at the blonde ninja before him. "Look what you've done now. But hey, I really shouldn't expect anything better from Konoha's _best _ninja now should I?" He gave a derisive laugh.

It was the sound of Sasuke's mocking laughter that finally sent Naruto over the edge. "Look, what the hell is your problem? I haven't done anything to you, but if you came to make my life as much hell as yours, you can get the f*** away!" He could feel the anger building in his heaving chest, but the fire he felt wasn't all his…trying to remain calm, he pushed aside the blinding demonic rage that was threatening to cloud him, forcing it into a recess of his mind.

"Sometimes I don't even know why you came back, or if you really wanted to help me defeat Pain," he glared.

Sasuke gave an ironic shrug. "I have my reasons, not that I'm about to share them with a snot-nosed Hokage wannabe."

He felt the _Kyubi_ stir within him again, stoking the fires of rage that burned within him, pushing him dangerously close to the precipice of his remaining self-control. Conscious that his fists were balled at his sides, he slowly uncurled them.

"Sasuke…please." He swallowed. He hated pleading but Naruto had slowly come to the realization that it wasn't always wise to fight fire with fire, although that was his natural gut instinct. Because most of the time, you just ended up getting burnt.

Something in the dark-haired Uchiha's gaze shifted, albeit momentarily. Was it regret that he saw lingering behind the icy, cruel façade he now sported?

He turned on his tail. "You're not worth my time."

"She still loves you, you know." The bitterness in his voice was unmistakable.

He didn't even turn around.

"Goddammit, she even made mochi for you today you b*stard and you won't even acknowledge her on the street! I don't know what you have for a heart, but I doubt even rock would be as hard as it!"

It was a last-ditch effort, and not one that Naruto had thought would work.

Defeating Pain had won him the admiration, the respect, the _acceptance_ that he had craved so much from the villagers. At last, they saw him as more than just the idiot who had finished last in his class at the Academy, more than just a little boy who had big dreams but who would never have the potential to fill them. Having spent most of his ninja career in the darkest corners of Sasuke's shadow, being toasted and venerated at the zenith of everyone's praises while Sasuke was condemned and dishonoured at the nadir of their contempt should have been sweet revenge.

But somehow, it hadn't felt right.

Naruto didn't want to be the hero, while Sasuke was the villain. He wanted them both to be celebrating, together. As a team. Just like the old days.

Or did he?

Because although he was now the beloved of everyone in the village, Sasuke still remained the beloved of the most important one of them all. He could live with the scorn and mockery of the villagers, their open hostility and fear at the dark power that resided inside his body. He could live with being shunned into the darkest corner of society, the ever-thickening blanket of suspicion separating him from them.

But he couldn't live with seeing the one person he loved more than anything in the world continue wasting her heart and soul on some callous, ungrateful b*stard that couldn't give a flying fig about her.

And for that, Naruto knew he would never be able to look on Sasuke as anything more than a rival anymore.

* * *

><p>Sasuke Uchiha felt like his life was spiraling out of control, turning into a vortex of rage and resentment that sucked at the very fibers of his soul. There was this pent-up hatred sealed up inside him, threatening to burst out every time he uttered a single word to anyone.<p>

He hadn't meant to antagonize Naruto, but something in him had just snapped upon facing his former teammate. Sasuke needed an outlet to channel this overwhelming rage, and Naruto happened to be there.

He'd felt a sharp pang of regret as he saw the pain clouding the blonde ninja's eyes, the look of hurt that had appeared on his face, the pleading in his voice. Naruto was a proud shinobi and warrior, it was not in his nature to beg.

Not trusting himself to control his emotions any longer, he'd muttered something horrible to make sure Naruto wouldn't follow him and rushed out of the shop.

She still loves you, you know.

Why would she? He scoffed. He'd cruelly rejected her not once, not twice, but her entire life. She'd offered him her future, promising to go wherever he went if only she could be by his side.

He'd refused.

And to add insult to injury (literally), he'd knocked her out after that.

He'd even tried to kill her a few years later. Sometimes he wondered if it would have been better for her if Kakashi-sensei hadn't interfered; dying from a stab wound would have a lot quicker and less painful than dying of a broken heart.

He'd always assumed that one day, she'd grow out of that ridiculous infatuation she had been harbouring ever since they were small children. That one day, she'd wake up and realize that he wasn't the fairytale prince she'd been fantasizing of; that he was nothing but a piece of scum even unfit to lick the bottom of the lofty pedestal she'd elevated him to.

He'd never dreamt anyone would continue loving him through every single dark deed that he'd committed, through every single murder he'd had his hands stained with.

In the aftermath of the invasion, he'd been steadfastly avoiding her; not wanting to be awash with the guilt that he could never return her feelings for him. Not wanting to heap more pain and disappointment on her than he already had, he'd avoided the hospital like the plague, and refrained from seeking out anyone remotely connected with the Harunos, medical ninja, Team Kakashi, jonin, shinobi…

That was pretty much the entire village.

The unbearable darkness his life had become stretched out like a never-ending tunnel before him- long, dark and meaningless. Unwilling to confront the jumbled mess his emotions had become, he simply blanked them out; retreating instead to his hollow shell, devoid of any feeling. But lately, the nightmares had been getting worse, the nights becoming increasingly longer and lonelier, and the days becoming increasingly empty and purposeless. His mind told him that he didn't need anyone, that becoming invisible was the best way of coping with things. But his heart secretly yearned for someone who would understand him, who would comfort him after waking up from yet another nightmare in which he saw his hands stained with Karin's blood, someone who would help heal the lifeless shell he feared he was becoming.

He saw a flash of pink hair crossing the street. Speak of the devil.

"Sakura!"

Either she couldn't hear him, or she didn't want to hear him. He chased after her, his black robe billowing wildly behind him as he sprinted across the road, drawing a few curious looks from passers-by.

"Sakura!"

She turned around, just as he caught up to her, panting a little. A whole kaleidoscope of emotions seemed to flicker across her face in that small space of time: shock, disbelief, distrust, anger. She hugged a container full of pink and green squares close to her chest.

"Sasuke."

He felt momentarily tongue-tied. Her deep emerald eyes were boring into his own dark-ones, and he felt uncomfortable looking straight into them. There was something in them that wasn't there the last time, the last time before he'd spent every subsequent meeting trying to kill her.

Had Naruto been lying?

He tried to crack a small smile to ease the tension, but somehow his muscles felt stiff and it turned out more like a grimace. Oh well, he'd never been particularly good at smiling anyway; having preferred his trademark scowl to the idiotic grin that Naruto sported which made him look like a demented half-wit.

"I heard you have something for me," he said lightly, trying to inject some humour into his voice. Geez that was hard, when was the last time he'd actually tried being nice to someone?

Her eyes narrowed. "Who told you that?"

The hostility in her voice took him by surprise. What happened to the undying love she was supposed to be secretly harbouring for him?

Sasuke had never been very good at lying spontaneously. Each lie he told always had to be meticulously planned and crafted, down to the very last detail. His ice-cool demeanour usually helped to maintain some semblance of credibility, but today he felt his resolve diminish under the fierce glare he was receiving from the visibly angry kunoichi. What happened to the Sakura that used to melt into puddles with a single, smoldering glance, the adoring fan girl that used to hang onto his every word?

"I..Naru…" He was actually stammering! He shook his head in disbelief.

Unfortunately, she interpreted this as a sign of further lying and deepened her hateful (yes, there was no other word to describe it) glare at him.

"I suppose you assumed that I had baked this mochi for you, just as you assumed that everything I do is only for you." He nearly choked at the unexpected venom in her words. When had she become like this? Who had replaced the once-cheerful Sakura he had known all his life with this bitter, twisted version of her?

A sharp spear of guilt pierced his heart. Had his rejection warped her into some kind of hate-filled monster, intent on hurting all those who had hurt her, her bitter crusade fuelled by a deep hatred of those who had wronged her?

Had he twisted her into something like himself?

This couldn't be happening.

"Well, the fact is you're so full of bitterness now that you've no room left in your life for even a tiny piece of sweetness, so I wouldn't waste it on you anyway!" She was practically shouting at him now, her voice a full octave higher.

But it was happening, and Sasuke didn't know how it had all gotten out of control all of a sudden. Just like everything in his life.

Yet the next time he looked up at her again, he was horrified to see that her eyes were sparkling with tears, tear tracks evident along her pale cheeks.

"Sakura, I'm sorry if I ups…"

"You're sorry, you're sorry! Do you know how long I've waited for you to say that? Waited for you to come home? Just, waited for you? I tried to look for you, but I failed, and I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough for you when you needed me!" She choked back a sob.

He could only watch her mutely.

"3 months since the invasion, yet not a single word out of you! I even thought that you had left Konoha again! Do you know how many times I've cried myself to sleep…"

The pounding in his ears grew louder and louder, drowning out the rest of her speech.

Gradually, she regained control of herself again and hiccoughed softly. Sasuke wished that he was more like Naruto, who wore his heart on his sleeve. Naruto wouldn't hesitate taking the sobbing pinkette into his arms, comfort her, tell her again and again how sorry he was, hug her tightly and offer her a handkerchief to dry her tears.

But he was Sasuke Uchiha so he just stared impassively ahead as if girls sobbed their hearts out to him on his doorstep everyday.

"I'm sorry I said that to you." Her voice was a far cry from the aggressive, angry tone she'd used on him earlier. Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she wasn't so far gone down the destructive path of rage that she had forgotten how to feel.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and accused you of being presumptuous…I was the one who was jumping to conclusions." Another sniff.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Actually…you were right. I did think that you had made them for me." He forced himself to look directly at her as he said that.

Sakura stared right back at him.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I'll…see you around then." He shuffled away quickly, his cheeks burning from the embarrassment of their little encounter. How could he have been so stupid as to believe that little son of a b*tch; Sakura didn't love him anymore. On the contrary, she hated him!

"Wait."

He stopped.

"Do...would you like one? I know they used to be your favourites," she asked, hesitantly.

He stared at the open container she was holding out to him. The offer was tempting, but like everything else, it didn't feel right taking something that wasn't his in the first place. Like the mochi, it was clear that someone like him didn't deserve someone as sweet and loving as Sakura.

"No thanks Sakura. They're not meant for me anyway." He gave a short laugh.

She winced a little. "Sasuke, I'm sorry; I didn't know that you…"

"It's not about the mochi."

He saw her stiffen, her fingers gripping the sides of the container tightly. They both remained silent for a few minutes, before Sakura suddenly jammed the lid tight on the mochi container and hurried away.

He didn't try and stop her this time.

* * *

><p>Pakkun sniffed hungrily at the open container, whining mock-pitifully as he was swatted away by Sakura. The young kunoichi had steadily been growing more fidgety as the minutes passed, yet her obvious agitation went apparently unnoticed by the silver haired ninja lounging on the couch, a violent orange book with the words <em>Icha Icha Paradise<em> embossed on its cover cradled in his gloved hands.

He turned another page.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore and in one swift movement, snatched the book from his grasp. He looked startled.

"Well, aren't you going to eat it?" She demanded, one hand on her hip, the other one dangling _Icha Icha_ just out of his reach.

Heaving himself to his feet with an enormous sigh, he replied, "I will, as soon as I finish this next chapt…"

She slammed the book onto the table with surprising force. He visibly flinched, no doubt worrying whether the spine of his beloved book would be able to withstand the brutal force of an evidently furious Sakura Haruno.

Her already frayed nerves from that uncomfortable meeting with Sasuke were close to being stretched to breaking point.

"It seems that my gift is of so little value to you that it even ranks below a stupid chapter of a stupid book that you have read oh I don't know, a thousand times over!" She hissed.

"Now Sakura, you know that's not tr…"

"Well why don't you just eat it then? Or is it because you don't think my baking is good enough for you? Just like everything about me isn't good enough for you huh, _sensei_?" She could feel tears forming in her eyes.

He remained silent, but if she had bothered to look closely at him, she would have noticed that he looked unnerved.

"Say something!" Her voice had risen to near hysterical levels.

He resolutely remained silent.

Trying to wipe away the fast flowing stream of tears, she stumbled blindly towards the door only to find herself pulled into his warm, comforting embrace.

Not caring that she was soaking him with her tears, Sakura cried into his jacket, letting loose all the emotions that had been choking her up since the run-in with Sasuke.

He continued holding her, gently stroking her hair until he no longer felt her body being wracked by sobs.

Now that the hysteria had passed, Sakura only felt acute embarrassment and shame. She had cried twice. In one day.

She _never_ cried. Except for that time when _he_ left.

And she had shouted at Kakashi-sensei. Actually _shouted_ at him. Then cried in front of him as well.

Sakura didn't know where to put her face.

Yet there he was, gently cuddling her and stroking her hair as if he didn't think she was the craziest kunoichi in the world, when in actual fact he should be running for the hills.

He really was the best sensei in the world.

Burying her face into his damp jacket, she mumbled, "I met Sasuke just now." Hoping that he would understand that she hadn't meant to act like a crazy b*tch-lady yelling and stomping around his apartment, demanding that he eat her stupid mochi instead of reading his pervy-books. Hoping that he would not see this as yet another weakness in her already flawed self.

"Hmmm. That would explain it." If she could look up at him, she would have noticed the gentleness in his dark eye that replaced the usual lazy indifferent expression he wore as he looked at her.

And miraculously, he did seem to understand because he didn't probe any further, instead continuing to stroke her hair and hold her tightly.

Finally, she let go of him. To her utmost surprise, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. Taken aback by the tenderness of the gesture, Sakura could only gape at him, a rosy blush beginning to suffuse her cheeks.

On the other hand, he seemed as unperturbed and expressionless as usual.

"I'm grateful for the mochi Sakura. I apologize for not paying it the attention it obviously deserves."

She bit her lip.

The jōnin sighed. "It's not really about the mochi is it?"

He knew her so well it was almost unnerving.

Like how he was so in tune with her he seemed to be able to read her thoughts even before she verbalized them. How he always seemed to know the right things to say to make her feel better.

Maybe he was why she finally stopped loving Sasuke.

"No." She agreed, her own response startling even herself. "No it's not. Kakashi-sensei…I think maybe its…time we had a talk."

"About you and Sasuke?"

She looked at him. There was no mistaking the anticipation, the hopefulness she saw in his dark gaze.

"No, about you and me."

A/N: DONE! My second Naruto fic in 2 days! Sorry I made Sakura seem so angsty towards the end, but I always pictured her as being really messed-up and resentful at Sasuke for leaving her in favour of power; how her love for him slowly turned to anger at being rejected at so many points in her life because there are only so many times you can get your love thrown back at you in the face before you crack. Also, I took several liberties with canon events in both the anime and manga in relation to Sasuke's role just because I was lazy to dream up a whole new role for him in the shinobi war. Oh and for the really nit-picky, I recently read on Narutopedia that Sasuke hates anything sweet but let's just ignore it shall we hehe.

As always, reviews are much appreciated!

Love, librastar x


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